Preamps waste of money?

Last_lemming, I think your assumption less is more going the passive route is essentially correct, as long as you have equipment that are compatible and willing to make some sacrifices. I think I got lucky going this route.

The lack of odd order distortion is probably why many listeners find tube preamps more natural and realistic without likely knowing exactly why.Even order harmonics are consonant with music(overtones and funtamental) and nature.The thin and dry sound of 'some' SS components could just be the product of odd order disortion(no matter how small its presence?).

Brighter sound of SS amps is related to Transient Intermodulation distortion (TIM) caused by negative feedback used to linearize output transistors especially in class AB amplifiers. Product of TIM is overshoot of transitions (in time domain) equivalent of producing odd order harmonics (in frequency domain). On the other hand overly warm gear, that might sound great on guitar or voice, can make other instruments with complex harmonic structure sound wrong. For instance piano, that has harmonics much more complex than simple overtones, can sound almost "out of tune". Ideal amp shouldn't add anything of its own, IMHO, pleasant or not.

Kijanki, I used to own the Hyperion 938s, one of my favorites. I think I was the first to own a pair in the US having purchased them in 2004. I miss them, but to big for me. I would buy them again if my back wasn't so messed up. I have to say the 938s sound great with tubes and smooth SS.

I prefer an amp which is just a touch on the warm side of neutral. On 1 to 10 scale, 1 being sterile and bright, 5 being neutral, and 10 being overly warm/ripe, I prefer 6. Just because more recordings error on the lean side.

Dracule1, Hyperions are really sad story. Company had absolutely great innovative product with many awards to practically fold the business down. They had poor dealership base, poor customer support, no marketing etc. I was lucky to still get it. With neutral sounding class D amp (Rowland 102) it is a little on the warm side but it sounds great even on lean/bright records. I need a little more highs (air) but it might be room acoustics (reverberation) or class D limitation. Midrange is to die for while bass is tuneful with very realistic attack and decay.